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Last Chance to see Detroit Institute of Arts Exhibition Watch Me Move - Special offers available through end of exhibition, January 5

Thursday, December 12, 2013

(Detroit)—There are only a few weeks left to see the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) popular special exhibition Watch Me Move: The Animation Show, the most extensive animation exhibition ever mounted. Watch Me Move ends Jan. 5, and the DIA has special offers available through the exhibition’s final weeks.

Every Saturday, purchase one adult ticket and receive one youth ticket (ages 6–17) free. A special one-time six-month free membership is available for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, which includes two free tickets to Watch Me Move and discounts in the museum shop, CafeDIA and Kresge Court. For information, call 313-833-7971.

Watch Me Move features both iconic moments and lesser-known masterpieces from the last 150 years, demonstrating the full intellectual and emotive power of animation. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see an incredible array of animation techniques in more than 100 animated film segments from across generations and cultures.

Exhibition tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for ages 6–17 and free for DIA members. Tickets include admission to one of 10 Detroit Film Theatre compilations of clips and short films that cover the milestones in the history of animation. See the schedule below.

Note special holiday hours and extended hours during the final days of the exhibition:

Holiday Hours

•Dec. 23: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

•Dec. 24–25: CLOSED

•Dec. 26: 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

•Dec. 27: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.

•Dec. 28–29: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

•Dec. 30: 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

•Dec. 31: 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

•Jan. 1: CLOSED

Extended Hours

•Jan. 3: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.

•Jan. 4–5: 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

The museum shop has a variety of animation-themed items ideal for holiday gifts. In addition to books, DVDs and do-it-yourself animation kits, collectible figures of cartoon favorites are available, among them popular superheroes, Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Popeye, the Peanuts Gang and The Simpsons.

The DIA also offers innovative programing in conjunction with Watch Me Move. The remaining programs are:

Animation Compilations

Compilations of clips and short films in 10 categories cover the milestones in the history of animation. Tickets are $5 per showing. Watch Me Move exhibition tickets include admission to one showing of the compilations or for a future Saturday Animation Club screening. Running time for each program is approximately one hour.

The earliest experiments in computer generated imagery took place in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until 1986 that Pixar’s short film Luxo Jr. made the world take notice. Following Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs in 1993, computer animation became a doorway that led animators and feature filmmakers to a limitless frontier.

Early Television Animation

Saturday, Dec. 14, 2 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 28, 2 p.m.

By the 1950s, Saturday morning TV meant one thing to American kids: cartoons. A universe of characters could be found, including Scooby-Doo and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Pioneers of Animation

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 2, 2 p.m.

At the dawn of the 20th century, visionary artists such as the Lumière brothers, Etienne-Jules Marey, Emile Cohland, and Georges Méliès, discovered the ability to artificially animate images to cast a spell of astonishment.

Early East Coast Studios

Friday, Dec. 20, 4 p.m. and Friday, Jan. 3, 4 p.m.

Animation evolved into a sizeable business by the 1920s. In New York, pioneers such as Max and Dave Fleisher were creating characters like Koko the Clown, Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor, who literally popped “out of the inkwell” to embark on surrealistic, sophisticated adventures that embraced the ethos and rhythms of the Jazz Age.

Golden Age of Hollywood Animation

Sat. Dec. 21, 2 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 4, 4 p.m.

The first movie stars were products of Hollywood, but for animators on the West Coast, like Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, the biggest stars were not discovered at auditions—they were drawn from scratch, ready to perform as directed.

Warner Bros. Animation

Sat., Dec. 21, 4 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 4, 2 p.m.

For audacity and comic invention, perhaps no other Hollywood studio matched the imaginative output of Warner Brothers. The words “Looney Tunes” appearing in a darkened theater brought immediate cheers, as characters like Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and the Road Runner were brought to life.

Avant-Garde Animation

Sunday, Dec. 22, 2 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 5, 2 p.m.

Since the earliest days of animation, experimentation with the abstract, non-narrative possibilities of the movie screen as a channel for expression has appealed to such artists as Oskar Fischinger, Fernand Léger and the Quay Brothers. Dispensing with traditional storylines, these films used the power of suggestion and the pure joy of motion to grab viewers' attention.

The National Film Board of Canada

Thursday, Dec. 26, 2 p.m.

Canada’s National Film Board (NFB) has produced a staggering number of short animated works, receiving more than 50 Oscar® nominations. Ranging from the comic to the poetic, the NFB has supported animators whose works have utilized a variety of animation techniques to create visions of a world both beautiful and troubled.

Post-War European Animation

Saturday, Dec. 28, 4 p.m.

After World War II, animation artists in Soviet-bloc countries found powerful ways to express the anxiety and fear that constituted day-to-day existence under repressive regimes. Walerian Borowczyk, Jiri Trnka, Jan Svankmajer and others distilled their feelings into visual metaphors that conveyed their messages to the rest of the world.

Animated Oddities and Unexpected Pleasures

Sunday Dec. 29, 2 p.m.

Some of the most memorable animated short films have not been part of an easily identifiable stylistic or thematic trend. From one-joke comic larks to the early work of Tim Burton and the fables of John and Faith Hubley, animation is often the medium of choice for expressing the inexpressible.

Puppet fabricator Victoria Rose Most demonstrates techniques used to create the animated characters in the films Coraline and Aunty Claus, as well as her toy line, Rawrztoys.

Lecture: The Animated Puppets of Coraline

Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 p.m.

As a complement to her artist demonstration, puppet fabricator Victoria Rose Most talks about the production processes used to create the animated characters in the films Coraline and Aunty Claus, as well as her toy line, Rawzrtoys, followed by a Q and A.

Drop-in Workshop: Flip Books

Friday, Jan. 3, 11 a.m.

Bring your drawings to life using this simple form of animation.

This exhibition has been organized by Barbican Centre, London. The Barbican Centre is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life in London and the nation.

In Detroit, generous support has been provided by the GM Foundation and Honigman. Additional support has been provided by Quicken Loans & Rock Ventures LLC.

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), one of the premier art museums in the United States, is home to more than 60,000 works that comprise a multicultural survey of human creativity from ancient times through the 21st century. From the first Van Gogh painting to enter a U.S. museum (Self-Portrait, 1887), to Diego Rivera's world-renowned Detroit Industry murals (1932–33), the DIA’s collection is known for its quality, range, and depth. The DIA’s mission is to create opportunities for all visitors to find personal meaning in art.

Programs are made possible with support from residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.